Giants To Sign Jae-Gyun Hwang

3:43pm: The Giants are closing in on a minor league contract with Korean third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. The contract, first reported by Naver Sports in Korea, will guarantee Hwang $1.5MM if he makes the big league roster in Spring Training, according to Baggarly. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that there are additional incentives beyond that guarantee, with Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap adding (via Twitter) that they could tack on another $1.6MM. Hwang is represented by GSI and ACES.

Hwang, 29, hit .335/.394/.570 with 27 home runs and 25 stolen bases last season, demonstrating an ability to sustain the power increase he showed during the 2015 season. Hwang also boosted his walk rate while more than halving his strikeout rate, which likely further piqued the Giants’ interest in his services.

Unlike last winter, Hwang was an unrestricted free agent this offseason (having accrued the requisite nine years of service time in the Korea Baseball Organization) and thus did not need to be posted by his former club, the Lotte Giants. He reportedly turned down a “sizable” offer from his former team and was also pursued by the KBO’s KT Wiz, but he’s been said to be willing to accept less money for the opportunity to pursue a Major League career. While the exact nature of that offer isn’t known, Hwang’s deal with San Francisco is presumably less lucrative in the short-term but obviously creates the opportunity for considerably better financial compensation down the line.

The Giants don’t have a clear-cut need at third base — Eduardo Nunez and Conor Gillaspie are both on hand as options, with Nunez likely to see the bulk of the playing time — but Hwang has significant experience at shortstop in Korea as well. Certainly, he won’t be displacing Brandon Crawford, but Hwang could earn a look as a utility option that can bounce all over the infield (and possibly the corner outfield).

Alternatively, if his bat proves capable of handling big league pitching, he could push Nunez into that role and assume regular third base duties. San Francisco does have an uncertain setup in left field at the moment, and Nunez has experience there, though his glove hasn’t been rated well in the outfield. Either Hwang or Nunez could conceivably handle the previously mentioned super-utility role (as Nunez did for multiple years in Minnesota), so Hwang’s spring and early-season performance will be worth keeping an eye on.

Difficult to say anything negative about this deal. Limited risk, high possible upside. Passable defender on the left side of the diamond. Potential for decent power on a team that desperately needs it. Well done.

Seems like waste- Giants already have super utility man in Kelby Tomlinson – who has shown the ability to handle the bat at the major league level, as well as play average to above average at 3b, SS, and 2nd.

I’m a big fan of Tomlinson, but how is this a waste ? Panik is always injured. Nunez ended the season injured and there are rumors that it’s significant and lingering. There is nobody of merit in left. Having an extra body that can play the left side of the infield well, and potentially add some desperately needed power as either a starter or off the bench seems like a no brainer. He may completely fail, but his upside is way to high to pass on.

Well this takes the Giants out of Todd Frazier sweepstakes, at least for a while. It’s looking more and more like the White Sox will not be making any significant deals prior to spring training. They may have to wait until the summer trade deadline before selling off their veterans, particularly impending free agents like Frazier, Melky Cabrera and Brett Lawrie.

The White Sox might as well try and sign a couple of vets to one-year “pillow” contracts, perhaps C Matt Wieters and OF Brandon Moss, to be somewhat competitive by opening day. Even if they start off poorly, it would give them a couple more “flip” candidates by midsummer. I’d even give Justin Morneau a call to see if he might have interest in returning as a platoon DH and backup at 1B provided he is healthy.

Not sure how real the Giants interest, or willingness, was to trade for Frazier anyways. With a relatively bare cupboard in the minors and the strong potential to make a mid-season addition in left, giving up what little prospect value you have at a position that’s relatively deep (quantity wise, not necessarily quality) seems foolish.

Unlike Jose Abreu and Jose Quintana who are still in their prime years with 3 and 4 more years of relatively cheap control, the shorter term pending White Sox free agents like Frazier, Cabrera and Lawrie won’t command the same level of prospects in a trade as the summer deadline approaches. Each will be 2-3 month rentals by that time.